


Rio de Janeiro

by dispatch



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-16
Updated: 2012-08-16
Packaged: 2017-11-12 06:23:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/487704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dispatch/pseuds/dispatch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim’s week starts off bad. Bruce and Rio makes it better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rio de Janeiro

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a challenge by winterysomnium over on Tumblr for stories about BruceTim in various cities around the world.

Red Robin is sitting on a roof in Rio and there’s a dead girl on the street. Tim doesn’t have to get a closer look. Doesn’t want to learn anymore about it. He already knows how it happened. Still hears the crack of the gun. Still sees her confused look as she collapsed to the ground. She was pretty, he had thought, distantly, but it doesn’t matter now. He wasn’t good enough, wasn’t fast enough, and she paid for it.

Left the murdering bastard lucky to be breathing. Definitely not conscious, trussed up like a bad gift in the middle of the alley. He’s in the city for Wayne Enterprise business, but even now he’s in uniform. Whether the thick protective armor is covering him or just in a business suit and tie. Both just as heavy. Sometimes he hates both just as much.

When he hears the police sirens, he takes one last long look. Then turns and leaves.

********

On the street corner leading to his hotel is a little girl. Maybe 12 years old. She could be the sister for the murdered girl as similar as they look. Every day he’s been there he’s seen her standing in front of her little flower cart. Selling flowers to the tourists. When there’s no one around she dances to the music that can be heard from down the street. She spins so her bright colored dress looks likes the flowers she sells and does cartwheels up and down the road.

When he passes by, she asks in broken English if he is going to the festival tonight? Or has he heard this band? He tries his own limited Portuguese on her and she cracks up when he says things wrong. She’s a brilliant merchant because he always ends up buying a flower.

Tonight, Red Robin watches as she packs up her things. Keeps an eye on her as she walks to the small shop she and her family live in. Almost disappointed when no one tries to give her any trouble. He heads down a random road and tries to find something else to fill the night.

********

He reports it later. Voluntary manslaughter. Gunshot to the chest. Victim dead on scene. Suspect arrested. Case closed. He keeps it short. To the point. He saves the file to the batcave’s database. He realizes his hands are shaking.

Scientifically he knows what it is. Acute stress can happen at any time for anything. He just - - he has seen death. It comes with the job. He doesn’t expect to always be able to stop it, but as long as he tries… it should be enough.

********

Tim is waiting in a lounge when Bruce walks through the door with what Dick calls Silly Smile Number Nine. Lucas, the CEO of the company trying for the merger, following in. Laughing loud as he slaps Bruce on the shoulder, “Timothy! You didn’t tell me Mr. Wayne would be joining us.”

“I didn’t know.” Tim says more because he didn’t and that’s saying something. “Bruce. You decided to head the merger?” He asks with what feels like anxiety.

“No. No.” Bruce laughs. “I’m here to enjoy myself. I just thought I’d check in though; see if everything was going well.”

“It’s all been wonderful.” Lucas cuts in cheerily ushering them both into the meeting room, “While you’re here though, how about I show both of you out plans for the future research center.” Tim lets himself be herded while he watches Bruce. All he sees, he thinks, is a mask.

********

Batman finds him when he’s wandering a favela. He won’t be in town much longer he knows, but he can’t just - - he needs to do something. Keep himself busy. He doesn’t tell himself it’s regret when he looks at the shadows and asks, “What do you need?”

“Oracle told me about your last report.” Batman says. Of course Babs would have noticed something off.

“I said everything there was to say.” 

Batman doesn’t say anything. Just watches him. Intense eyes searching. “Tim –“ He starts. Tim moves with a jerk.

“Don’t start.” He snaps. “Just- Don’t. I screwed up. I know I did. You don’t have to remind me about it.” He laughs, bitter and harsh. “I’m not perfect. Ok? I’m sorry I can’t live up to you expectations. But real world, Bruce. Everything is shit. Everything fails and I’m no different.” When he stops he notices how quite it is. Shit. He thinks. Why is he the one reeling from this?

He takes a step back. Batman doesn’t move. Doesn’t say anything. Just stares him like he’s a puzzle and - - Tim runs. His feet scramble for purchase on the shanty’s edge. He vaults down and all he can think of is away. Doesn’t know for how long or how far he goes but by the ends he’s panting. Deep breaths as he looks behind him. He’s not sure if he’s disappointed but he should have expected it when there’s no one there.

********

Normally, Batman would follow him at the end of the night. Red Robin would leave his window open. Keep the blinds pulled back and Batman would see it as the invitation it was and Bruce would slip in like a predator. Hungry and wanting and Tim never refusing him anything. Tonight, Tim pulls his balcony door shut, locks it for good measure, and drops the curtains till the outside world is walled behind glass and cloth. If Bruce wanted in, it wouldn’t mean anything. But he’ll respect it, Tim knows.

********

Bruce waits for him in the lobby of the hotel the next night. “I thought we could grab a bite.” He offers smoothly. All Bruce Wayne entitlement. Tim hesitates, and sees the way Bruce freezes, and then accepts. He was hungry anyways.

The weather is warm, pleasant and they chose to walk. Both are quite and Tim normally enjoys the silence but it’s stifling now. He wants to say something. Can’t figure out what. Maybe apologize. He knows he should. It’s hard to start.

When Tim looks over, he is gone. Heading down the street towards the little girl and her flower cart. Tim can’t hear what he says, but the way she smiles and giggles means it’s something probably silly and charmingly Bruce Wayne. He bets it’s in perfect Portuguese. She looks down the road at him and Bruce looks over his shoulder and smiles something small that looks like a promise. Tim feels his mouth dry out and he has to stop himself from joining them. The girl picks up a bouquet of something he should be able to recognize but at the time it’s lost to him. Then she’s heading towards him and Tim feels frozen. He couldn’t have– he thinks. Except when the girl stands in front of him. Holds it out and says in heavily accented English, “For you.”

Tim takes them before he can think of refusing. Sort of stares dumbly for a few seconds, till the girl speaks again. “You like?”

“Yeah.” Tim stammers out. He’s blushing. He knows he’s blushing. She smiles, dimples showing then skips back to her cart. When Bruce wanders back Tim still has to stammer. “You bought me flowers.”

“Of course not. She gave you flowers.”

“You paid for them.” He accuses.

“Donated some money to a striving entrepreneur.” 

“You bought me flowers.” Tim says again, smile tugging at his mouth when Bruce doesn’t answer this time. Fuck. What was he going to do with flowers? He still feels like he shouldn’t have this. Embarrassingly, he’s pleased despite it. 

Bruce steers them to a bar in Lappa that, according to Lucas, has the best food in the city. They tread up the street. There’s a festival of some sort going on. The crowds excited, happy and alive. There’s a juggler. And live bands on what seems like every corner. It’s bright, Bruce is there and for the first time in a long time, Tim lets himself relax.  
********

Red Robin is jumping down the rooftops just for the fun of it. The downward slope in some areas like huge stairwells he has to leap off of instead of step. He hits an edge then grapples to the top of an apartment complex and just relaxes. Sits on the ledge, leg hanging over and enjoys the night air. Across the way, a shadow moves. Slight, could be nothing, but Red Robin waves to Batman. He doesn’t approach. Red Robin is ok with that. That’s not till later.

Instead, he gets up and does a slow zigzag back to the hotel. Someone’s singing something he can’t understand. He passes one place that smell like pastries and sweets. Sometimes he can smell the ocean, and others the local fauna. It’s his last night, and he wants to enjoy it.

When he gets to a familiar street he glances down to check on the flower girl. Stops.

There’s three men there. One pushing her cart back and forth as much as the locked wheels allow. And the other leaning over her. Maybe nothing, but she’s sobbing and he doesn’t even think before he’s down there, grabbing the arm of the man towering over the girl. They’re tourists, he can tell by their clothes and the way the third one slurs his words together. Drunk and stupid because of it.

“Come on guys, can’t you find something better to do? Maybe take a bath? You definitely need one.”

“Who’re you?” The man he has a hold of rumbles. Aggressive and yanking his arm. Tim lets it go. The man takes a step back then straightens. Tries to be intimidating.

“Wow.” Red Robin drawls out. “Aren’t you tall.”

“Randy.” The third man hissed. The one by the cart just watching.

“What is that-that- costume? You think you’re a hero of something?”

“Fuck. Randy!”

“I don’t- Wha?” The first man rounds on his friend when he yanks he shoulder back.

“That’s a hero, you fucking idiot. Red Robin.” Then to Tim, “We’ll be leaving. We didn’t mean anything by it, we were just-“

“Who the hell is Red Robin?” The first man asks.

“Ran out of brain cells?” Tim finishes for the other man.

“Uh, yeah. Come on, Randy.” He shepherds his two friends back up the road. Red Robin turns back to the girl and catches her when she flings herself at him. Arms squeezing like a vice grip as she sobs into his shoulder.

“Hey,” He hugs back. He’s not the best at Portuguese already and the way she chokes around her sobs making the words completely unrecognizable. “It’s ok.” He sooths. “They’re gone now.” She doesn’t let go so he won’t either.

A few people pass on the street, giving him weird looks and raised eyebrows. He shrugs and they all pass - as her sobs become light sniffles - Till one, an stern older woman marches up to him. The girl sees her and launches at the new woman. Babbling once again. Tim isn’t sure what to do with his arms now. They drop to his sides and he shifts awkwardly.

The woman most have figured out what happened because when Red Robin thinks of turning and leaving, she looks up, meets his eye and say in worse accented English then the girls, “Thank you.” He’s not new to this, but still. He never gets tired of those words.

********

Tim lets himself sleep on the couch. When he wakes, it’s still night, the wind carrying in different fragrances through the still open door. Batman almost… hovers. Tim keeps himself from laughing at the image that brings. “Hey.” He offers instead. Bruce pulls his cowl back, and meets his eyes. A slow, feral smile sliding across his face, chasing the warmth down to Tim’s stomach. Tim shares the grin, reaches up, and pulls him down for a kiss.


End file.
